Birth Control Options for Breast Feeding Mothers

As a new mother the last thing you want to think about or have to deal with is birth control, or finding out you're three weeks pregnant and your baby is only a month old.

I have put together a great list of for you to read through to help make an informed decision on your birth control while still being able to breast feed. All of these birth controls are safe with breast feeding.

Barrier methods are a good choice while you try to find a good birth control. By barrier I mean the use of condoms; you can use male or females condoms. There is also the cervical cap (diaphragm) your doctor or your or midwife will fit this to your cervix. If you lose weight or gain weight and its more than 15 pounds you need to have a diaphragm made. You also need a new diaphragm made after each pregnancy. These methods work but you should also use another type of birth control with these.

IUD'S may be in option for you these have to be non-hormonal IUD's. The copper IUD is a good one, you can take this out at anytime. This also has no effect with breast feeding. This method works by copper being released causing the lining in your uterus to shed more often. This makes it so a fertilized egg can't implant on the uterine lining.

Hormonal methods may also be used. These types of birth control have the hormones progesterone and estrogen in them. Here is a list of these types of birth control that may be used. Alesse, mircette, loestrin, demulen, nordette, lo/ovral, desogen, norinyl, ortho-tri cyclen, triphasil, norlestin, ortho-novum, and ovarl. With these pills you need to take them at the same time everyday for them to work. If you would rather have one that you don't have to remember to take at the same time every day you could go with lunelle which is a monthly shot. There is also the patch which is patch you change every week and the nuva ring you change this one every three weeks.

Estrogen may reduce milk supply so these types of birth control are preferred to be used when your child is six months old or older and eating solid foods daily.

There is also Progestin only birth control. The mini-pill which are micronor, NOR-QD, overtte, and microval are some good choices. As with any pill these need to be taken at the same time everyday.

If you want a birth control that you don't have to take daily then you might want to try depo-provera which is a shot you get once every three months. There is also two IUD'S you could go with. They are mirena and progestasert. These IUD'S work pretty much the same as the copper IUD. It keeps the egg from implanting on the uterine lining.

LAM is another option for you. Lactational Amenorrhea (LAM) is a good choice for mothers who don't want to take any form of birth control with hormones in it. This form of birth control has been 98 percent effective as long as all of these are your case. Answer yes or no to these 4 questions.

1. The baby is less than six months old?
2. The baby is exclusively breast feeding. Five percent or less of the babies food comes from food or formula.
3. The baby doesn't go more than 4 hours from feeding to feeding and no more than 6 hours at night in between feeds.
4. You have not had your first period yet.

If you do not meet all of these questions with a "yes" than you need to use another form of birth control. This works only when your child is sucking on the breast when needing food and comfort. This means no supplementing formula or use of a pacifier. If you must use a pacifier it should be limited time.

You can tell if you have had your first period by thinking back to when you had your child. You should have had vaginal bleeding anywhere from two to four weeks. If you went with out any bleeding for a length of time and then started having spotting that last more than a couple of days. This is probably a sign that your period is back and you are fertile again. When this happens you need to use another form of birth control to prevent getting pregnant again. You can also talk to your doctor if you need to have someone be more specific on what type of spotting is not normal for breast feeding mothers.

Natural family planning (NFP) may be the next type of birth control you might want to try if LAM is no longer working for you and you enjoyed that form of birth control this would be a good one for you to try. It also is one that does not have you taking hormones to prevent getting pregnant. This form of birth control works by tracking your ovulation by changes in your body like changes in your vaginal discharge and elevated temperature.

When this is done right it can work very well, almost as if you were on the pill. This method takes some time to learn so you should talk to your doctor about how this is done. You should use some form of birth control wether it be condom's or some other form till you know how to do it.

If you feel that something has went wrong and that you might end up pregnant there are a couple of options for this. There is a combination estrogen-progestin pills which are preven and ovral. There is also a progestin pill called plan B. All of these pills need to be taken within the first 72 hours of the in cendant. They are also safe to take while breast feeding.

There are symptoms with all of these methods so you should talk to your doctor or midwife about all of these symptoms. These forms of birth control do not protect against AIDS, HIV, hpv or any other forms of std's one hundred percent.

I hope that this helps you choose the best birth control for you and your family.